The Christian Narrative and Spiritual Diversity

Introduction

The reality of religious pluralism (the view that there are many different religions with different teachings) does not logically imply any sort of religious relativism (the view that there is no such thing as truth, or that everything is a matter of opinion). There are genuine distinctions between religions and worldviews. Given this fact, it is imperative that one be tolerant of differences and engage civilly with those of different religions or worldviews. It might be tempting to think that one is being tolerant or civil by simply rolling all religions into one sort of generic "spirituality" and to claim that all religions are essentially the same. But this is simply false. Once again, there are genuine and important differences among religions; these differences are meaningful to the followers of a particular faith. To simply talk of some sort of a generic "spirituality," while maybe properly descriptive of some, does not accurately describe most of the religious people in the world. Furthermore, this terminology often reduces religion to a mere personal or cultural preference, and it ignores the distinctions and particularity of each. The point is that such a reductionism is not respectful of patients. It should also be noted that atheism or secularism are not simply default or perfectly objective (or supposedly "scientific") starting positions, while religious perspectives are somehow hopelessly biased. Every religion or worldview brings with it a set of assumptions about the nature of reality; whether or not a particular view should be favored depends upon whether or not it is considered true and explains well one's experience of reality.

The Christian Narrative

While it is not possible to survey every possible religion, this survey will at least attempt to do justice to the biblical narrative and Judeo-Christian tradition.

The Bible is a collection of 66 books written over thousands of year in several different languages and in different genres (e.g., historical narrative, poetry, letters, prophecy), yet there is an overarching story, or big picture, which we will refer to as the "Christian biblical narrative." The Christian biblical narrative is often summarized as the story of the creation, fall, redemption, and restoration of human beings (and more accurately this includes the entire created order). Concepts such as "sin," "righteousness," and "shalom" provide a framework by which the Christian worldview understands the concepts of "health" and "disease."

Briefly, consider the following summary of each of the four parts of the grand Christian story (your instructor will be sure to go through the actual biblical references together with you as you explore this narrative):

Creation

According to Christianity, the Christian God is the creator of everything that exists (Gen 1-2). There is nothing that exists, which does not have God as its creator. In Christianity there is a clear distinction between God and the creation. Creation includes anything that is not God-the universe and everything in it, including human beings. Thus, the universe itself and all human beings were created. The act of creating by God was intentional. In this original act of creation, everything exists on purpose, not accidentally or purely randomly, and it is good. When God describes His act or creating, and the creation itself as "good, " among other things, it not only means that it is valuable and that God cares for it, but that everything is "the way it's supposed to be." There is an "order" to creation, so to speak, and everything is it ought to be. This state of order and peace is described by the term Shalom. Yale theologian Nicholas Wolterstorff (1994) describes Shalom as, "the human being dwelling at peace in all his or her relationships: With God, with self, with fellows, with nature" (p. 251).
Fall

Sometime after the creation, there occurred an event in human history in which this order was broken. In Genesis 3 the Bible describes this event as a fundamental act of disobedience to God. The disobedience of Adam and Eve is referred to as "the fall," because, among other things, it was their rejection of God's rule over them and it resulted in a break in Shalom. According to the Bible, the fall had universal implications. Sin entered into the world through the fall, and with it, spiritual and physical death. This break in Shalom has affected the creation ever since; death, disease, suffering, and, most fundamentally, estrangement from God has been characteristic of human existence.
Redemption

The rest of the story in the Bible after Genesis 3, is a record of humanity's continual struggle and corruption after the fall, and God's plan for its redemption. This plan of redemption spans the Old and New Testaments in the Bible and culminates in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The climax of the Christian biblical narrative is the atoning sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, by which God makes available forgiveness and salvation by grace alone, through faith alone. The death of Christ is the means by which this estrangement caused by sin and corruption is made right. Thus, two parties, which were previously estranged, are brought into unity (i.e., "at-one-ment"). For the Christian, salvation fundamentally means the restoration of a right and proper relationship with God, which not only has consequences in the afterlife, but here and now.

Restoration

The final chapter of this narrative is yet to fully be realized. While God has made available a way to salvation, ultimately the end goal is the restoration of all creation to a state of Shalom. The return of Jesus, the final judgment of all people, and the restoration of all creation will inaugurate final restoration.

Worldview and the Christian Narrative

The way in which Christianity will answer the seven basic worldview questions will be in the context of the above narrative. In the same vein, a Christian view of health and health care will stem from the above narrative and God's purposes. Of course, the pinnacle of this framework is the person of Jesus Christ. Thus, for Christianity, medicine is called to serve God's call and purposes, and everything is done in remembrance of, and in light of, Jesus' ultimate authority and Kingship.